Floating Pool Lady arrives in Barretto Point Park for summer

By DORIAN BLOCK

Jun 09, 2008 | 5:05 PM

The Floating Pool Lady arrived at Tiffany Pier in Barretto Point Park last week, where she'll be moored for the whole summer, giving residents of the Bronx a chance to enjoy a respite from the heat. (Schwartz for News)

She is one hefty lady - all five million pounds of her.

The Floating Pool Lady swimming pool is now parked in Hunts Point for the summer, hauled by tugs from Bayonne, N.J., last week.

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Around the same time the pool arrived, the MTA announced that it will provide shuttle buses from each of Hunts Point's subway stops to Bar-retto Point Park, where the pool is docked.

"Now we have a way to get there and a place to go," said Jenny Mena, 15, a member of ACTION, a teen group sponsored by The Point, a local community service organization that advocated for the pool and bus service. "I envision it as something huge. It will shine a light on Hunts Point."

The seven-lane, 82-foot pool is scheduled to open June 27, according to the Parks Department.

The pool, which spent its first year in Brooklyn, will be in the Bronx for at least three years under a state permit that can be renewed for up to 12 years.

"Everyone's so excited about it and we're excited more than anybody," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "This has been in the works for more than a decade."

He said the pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with free swimming lessons available for children and adults in the morning before the pool opens.

Over the next two weeks, the pool will be connected to water, sewer and electric lines. Foundations will be poured to support walkways for swimmers to reach the pool.

Ann Buttenweiser, whose foundation conceived and funded the pool, described last year's opening in Brooklyn as "an incredible day."

"Last year, people were lining up at 3 a.m. to get the first swim," she said. "I heard last week that the children in the Bronx were lining up and waiting for it to come already. Can you imagine what it will be like? The looks on those children's faces, that's what made this whole project worthwhile to me."

Benepe, who also took a dunk on opening day last year, said visitors to the pool will rotate in and out in one-hour sessions if there are more than the pool's capacity of 170.

He added that the Parks Department is looking for a concessionaire for adjacent Barretto Point Park.

"It's a really great feeling to be in a pool on the water under the open sky," Benepe said. "It's like being on a cruise ship."